Method and system for low density hosted telephony regulatory compliance

ABSTRACT

A method for facilitating regulatory compliance with respect to telephony communications is provided. The method includes: assigning, to a mobile telephone, an access number; routing a communication that relates to the assigned access number to a gateway; processing the routed communication to ensure compliance with all jurisdictional regulations, including real-time call recording and short message service (SMS) capturing for compliance archival and search, applying data loss prevention (DLP) rules, and any other suitable processing; and forwarding the processed communication to the mobile telephone. A subscriber identification module (SIM) that is associated with the access number is physically installed at the gateway. The communication may be a voice communication and/or an SMS text communication.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/877,467, filed Jul. 23, 2019, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Disclosure

This technology generally relates to methods and systems for voice andshort message service (SMS) telephony communications, and moreparticularly, to methods and systems for ensuring that regulatoryrequirements for voice and SMS communications are satisfied.

2. Background Information

Many corporate entities that operate globally face challenges withrespect to meeting regulatory requirements in various jurisdictions forvoice and short message service (SMS) communications. In this aspect,although some nations have either a mobile virtual network operator(MVNO) or a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)-based solution, there isno single solution that is globally applicable. Further, although thereis a relatively low volume of communications that are affected by thisproblem, violations of regulatory requirements are associated withsignificant fines and other penalties.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide a globally applicable solutionfor ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements for voice and SMStelephony communications.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure, through one or more of its various aspects,embodiments, and/or specific features or sub-components, provides, interalia, various systems, servers, devices, methods, media, programs, andplatforms for ensuring that regulatory requirements for voice and SMScommunications are satisfied.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method forfacilitating regulatory compliance with respect to telephonycommunications is provided. The method is implemented by at least oneprocessor. The method includes: assigning, to at least one from among amobile telephone and a computer telephony application by the at leastone processor, an access number; receiving, by the at least oneprocessor, an incoming communication that relates to the assigned accessnumber; routing, by the at least one processor, the received incomingcommunication to a gateway that is installed at a hosted facility;processing, by the at least one processor, the routed communication toensure compliance with a predetermined plurality of jurisdictionalregulations; and forwarding, by the at least one processor, theprocessed communication to the at least one from among the mobiletelephone and the computer telephony application. A subscriberidentification module (SIM) that is associated with the assigned accessnumber is physically installed at the gateway.

The gateway may be a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) overInternet Protocol (GoIP) gateway. The assigning of the access number mayinclude: registering the at least one from among the mobile telephoneand the computer telephony application with the GoIP gateway; assigninga GoIP SIM number to the at least one of the mobile telephone and thecomputer telephony application; and associating the assigned SIM numberwith a personal number of a user of the at least one from among themobile telephone and the computer telephony application.

The predetermined plurality of jurisdictional regulations may include aset of regulations that is applicable in a current geographical locationof the GoIP gateway.

The incoming communication may include an incoming voice call.

The incoming communication may include an incoming short message service(SMS) text communication.

The processing of the routed communication may include applying at leastone from among a data access rule that relates to an exposure of apredetermined data type to a predetermined entity and a functionalaccess rule that relates to a performance of a predetermined function onthe predetermined data type.

The applying of the at least one from among the data access rule and thefunctional access rule may include at least one from among real-timecall recording for compliance archival and search, short message service(SMS) capturing for compliance archival and search, and applying atleast one data loss prevention rule.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computingapparatus for facilitating regulatory compliance with respect totelephony communications is provided. The computing apparatus includescomprising a processor, a memory, and a communication interface coupledto each of the processor and the memory. The processor is configured to:assign, to at least one from among a mobile telephone and a computertelephony application, an access number; receive, via the communicationinterface, an incoming communication that relates to the assigned accessnumber; route the received incoming communication to a gateway that isinstalled at a hosted facility; process the routed communication toensure compliance with a predetermined plurality of jurisdictionalregulations; and forward, via the communication interface, the processedcommunication to the at least one from among the mobile telephone andthe computer telephony application. A subscriber identification module(SIM) that is associated with the assigned access number is physicallyinstalled at the gateway.

The gateway may be a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) overInternet Protocol (GoIP) gateway. The processor may be furtherconfigured to: register the at least one from among the mobile telephoneand the computer telephony application with the GoIP gateway; assign aGoIP SIM number to the at least one of the mobile telephone and thecomputer telephony application; and associate the assigned SIM numberwith a personal number of a user of the at least one from among themobile telephone and the computer telephony application.

The predetermined plurality of jurisdictional regulations may include aset of regulations that is applicable in a current geographical locationof the GoIP gateway.

The incoming communication may include an incoming voice call.

The incoming communication may include an incoming short message service(SMS) text communication.

The processor may be further configured to apply, to the routedcommunication, at least one from among a data access rule that relatesto an exposure of a predetermined data type to a predetermined entityand a functional access rule that relates to a performance of apredetermined function on the predetermined data type.

The processor may be further configured to execute, with respect to therouted communication, at least one from among a real-time call recordingoperation for compliance archival and search, a short message service(SMS) capturing operation for compliance archival and search, and anapplication of at least one data loss prevention rule.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method forfacilitating regulatory compliance with respect to telephonycommunications is provided. The method is implemented by at least oneprocessor. The method includes: assigning, to at least one from among amobile telephone and a computer telephony application by the at leastone processor, an access number; receiving, by the at least oneprocessor from the at least one from among the mobile telephone and thecomputer telephony application, an outgoing communication; routing, bythe at least one processor, the received outgoing communication to agateway that is installed at a hosted facility; processing, by the atleast one processor, the routed communication to ensure compliance witha predetermined plurality of jurisdictional regulations; and forwarding,by the least one processor, the processed communication to an intendeddestination. A subscriber identification module (SIM) that is associatedwith the assigned access number is physically installed at the gateway.

The gateway may be a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) overInternet Protocol (GoIP) gateway. The assigning of the access number mayinclude: registering the at least one from among the mobile telephoneand the computer telephony application with the GoIP gateway; assigninga GoIP SIM number to the at least one of the mobile telephone and thecomputer telephony application; and associating the assigned SIM numberwith a personal number of a user of the at least one from among themobile telephone and the computer telephony application.

The predetermined plurality of jurisdictional regulations may include aset of regulations that is applicable in a current geographical locationof the GoIP gateway.

The outgoing communication may include an outgoing voice call.

The outgoing communication may include an outgoing short message service(SMS) text communication.

The processing of the routed communication may include at least one fromamong real-time call recording for compliance archival and search, shortmessage service (SMS) capturing for compliance archival and search, andapplying at least one data loss prevention rule.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is further described in the detailed descriptionwhich follows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings, by wayof non-limiting examples of preferred embodiments of the presentdisclosure, in which like characters represent like elements throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computer system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary diagram of a network environment.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary system for implementing a method for ensuringthat regulatory requirements for voice and SMS communications aresatisfied.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for implementing a methodfor ensuring that regulatory requirements for voice and SMScommunications are satisfied.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a low density hosted telephony systemarchitecture, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary event flow diagram for handling of voice and SMScommunications, according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Through one or more of its various aspects, embodiments and/or specificfeatures or sub-components of the present disclosure, are intended tobring out one or more of the advantages as specifically described aboveand noted below.

The examples may also be embodied as one or more non-transitory computerreadable media having instructions stored thereon for one or moreaspects of the present technology as described and illustrated by way ofthe examples herein. The instructions in some examples includeexecutable code that, when executed by one or more processors, cause theprocessors to carry out steps necessary to implement the methods of theexamples of this technology that are described and illustrated herein.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary system for use in accordance with the embodimentsdescribed herein. The system 100 is generally shown and may include acomputer system 102, which is generally indicated.

The computer system 102 may include a set of instructions that can beexecuted to cause the computer system 102 to perform any one or more ofthe methods or computer based functions disclosed herein, either aloneor in combination with the other described devices. The computer system102 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected to othersystems or peripheral devices. For example, the computer system 102 mayinclude, or be included within, any one or more computers, servers,systems, communication networks or cloud environment. Even further, theinstructions may be operative in such cloud-based computing environment.

In a networked deployment, the computer system 102 may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, a client user computer in a cloud computingenvironment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment. The computer system 102, or portionsthereof, may be implemented as, or incorporated into, various devices,such as a personal computer, a tablet computer, a set-top box, apersonal digital assistant, a mobile device, a palmtop computer, alaptop computer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesssmart phone, a personal trusted device, a wearable device, a globalpositioning satellite (GPS) device, a web appliance, or any othermachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,while a single computer system 102 is illustrated, additionalembodiments may include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute instructions or perform functions. Theterm “system” shall be taken throughout the present disclosure toinclude any collection of systems or sub-systems that individually orjointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform oneor more computer functions.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the computer system 102 may include at leastone processor 104. The processor 104 is tangible and non-transitory. Asused herein, the term “non-transitory” is to be interpreted not as aneternal characteristic of a state, but as a characteristic of a statethat will last for a period of time. The term “non-transitory”specifically disavows fleeting characteristics such as characteristicsof a particular carrier wave or signal or other forms that exist onlytransitorily in any place at any time. The processor 104 is an articleof manufacture and/or a machine component. The processor 104 isconfigured to execute software instructions in order to performfunctions as described in the various embodiments herein. The processor104 may be a general purpose processor or may be part of an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor 104 may also be amicroprocessor, a microcomputer, a processor chip, a controller, amicrocontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a state machine, or aprogrammable logic device. The processor 104 may also be a logicalcircuit, including a programmable gate array (PGA) such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), or another type of circuit that includesdiscrete gate and/or transistor logic. The processor 104 may be acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), orboth. Additionally, any processor described herein may include multipleprocessors, parallel processors, or both. Multiple processors may beincluded in, or coupled to, a single device or multiple devices.

The computer system 102 may also include a computer memory 106. Thecomputer memory 106 may include a static memory, a dynamic memory, orboth in communication. Memories described herein are tangible storagemediums that can store data and executable instructions, and arenon-transitory during the time instructions are stored therein. Again,as used herein, the term “non-transitory” is to be interpreted not as aneternal characteristic of a state, but as a characteristic of a statethat will last for a period of time. The term “non-transitory”specifically disavows fleeting characteristics such as characteristicsof a particular carrier wave or signal or other forms that exist onlytransitorily in any place at any time. The memories are an article ofmanufacture and/or machine component. Memories described herein arecomputer-readable mediums from which data and executable instructionscan be read by a computer. Memories as described herein may be randomaccess memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory, electricallyprogrammable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk, a cache,a removable disk, tape, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disk (DVD), floppy disk, blu-ray disk, or any other form ofstorage medium known in the art. Memories may be volatile ornon-volatile, secure and/or encrypted, unsecure and/or unencrypted. Ofcourse, the computer memory 106 may comprise any combination of memoriesor a single storage.

The computer system 102 may further include a display 108, such as aliquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), aflat panel display, a solid state display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), aplasma display, or any other type of display, examples of which are wellknown to skilled persons.

The computer system 102 may also include at least one input device 110,such as a keyboard, a touch-sensitive input screen or pad, a speechinput, a mouse, a remote control device having a wireless keypad, amicrophone coupled to a speech recognition engine, a camera such as avideo camera or still camera, a cursor control device, a globalpositioning system (GPS) device, an altimeter, a gyroscope, anaccelerometer, a proximity sensor, or any combination thereof. Thoseskilled in the art appreciate that various embodiments of the computersystem 102 may include multiple input devices 110. Moreover, thoseskilled in the art further appreciate that the above-listed, exemplaryinput devices 110 are not meant to be exhaustive and that the computersystem 102 may include any additional, or alternative, input devices110.

The computer system 102 may also include a medium reader 112 which isconfigured to read any one or more sets of instructions, e.g. software,from any of the memories described herein. The instructions, whenexecuted by a processor, can be used to perform one or more of themethods and processes as described herein. In a particular embodiment,the instructions may reside completely, or at least partially, withinthe memory 106, the medium reader 112, and/or the processor 110 duringexecution by the computer system 102.

Furthermore, the computer system 102 may include any additional devices,components, parts, peripherals, hardware, software or any combinationthereof which are commonly known and understood as being included withor within a computer system, such as, but not limited to, a networkinterface 114 and an output device 116. The output device 116 may be,but is not limited to, a speaker, an audio out, a video out, a remotecontrol output, a printer, or any combination thereof.

Each of the components of the computer system 102 may be interconnectedand communicate via a bus 118 or other communication link. As shown inFIG. 1, the components may each be interconnected and communicate via aninternal bus. However, those skilled in the art appreciate that any ofthe components may also be connected via an expansion bus. Moreover, thebus 118 may enable communication via any standard or other specificationcommonly known and understood such as, but not limited to, peripheralcomponent interconnect, peripheral component interconnect express,parallel advanced technology attachment, serial advanced technologyattachment, etc.

The computer system 102 may be in communication with one or moreadditional computer devices 120 via a network 122. The network 122 maybe, but is not limited to, a local area network, a wide area network,the Internet, a telephony network, a short-range network, or any othernetwork commonly known and understood in the art. The short-rangenetwork may include, for example, Bluetooth, Zigbee, infrared, nearfield communication, ultraband, or any combination thereof. Thoseskilled in the art appreciate that additional networks 122 which areknown and understood may additionally or alternatively be used and thatthe exemplary networks 122 are not limiting or exhaustive. Also, whilethe network 122 is shown in FIG. 1 as a wireless network, those skilledin the art appreciate that the network 122 may also be a wired network.

The additional computer device 120 is shown in FIG. 1 as a personalcomputer. However, those skilled in the art appreciate that, inalternative embodiments of the present application, the computer device120 may be a laptop computer, a tablet PC, a personal digital assistant,a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a desktop computer, acommunications device, a wireless telephone, a personal trusted device,a web appliance, a server, or any other device that is capable ofexecuting a set of instructions, sequential or otherwise, that specifyactions to be taken by that device. Of course, those skilled in the artappreciate that the above-listed devices are merely exemplary devicesand that the device 120 may be any additional device or apparatuscommonly known and understood in the art without departing from thescope of the present application. For example, the computer device 120may be the same or similar to the computer system 102. Furthermore,those skilled in the art similarly understand that the device may be anycombination of devices and apparatuses.

Of course, those skilled in the art appreciate that the above-listedcomponents of the computer system 102 are merely meant to be exemplaryand are not intended to be exhaustive and/or inclusive. Furthermore, theexamples of the components listed above are also meant to be exemplaryand similarly are not meant to be exhaustive and/or inclusive.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented using a hardware computersystem that executes software programs. Further, in an exemplary,non-limited embodiment, implementations can include distributedprocessing, component/object distributed processing, and parallelprocessing. Virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionality as describedherein, and a processor described herein may be used to support avirtual processing environment.

As described herein, various embodiments provide optimized methods andsystems for ensuring that regulatory requirements for voice and SMScommunications are satisfied.

Referring to FIG. 2, a schematic of an exemplary network environment 200for implementing a method for ensuring that regulatory requirements forvoice and SMS communications are satisfied is illustrated. In anexemplary embodiment, the method is executable on any networked computerplatform, such as, for example, a personal computer (PC).

The method for ensuring that regulatory requirements for voice and SMScommunications are satisfied may be implemented by a RegulatoryCompliance Gateway (RCG) device 202. The RCG device 202 may be the sameor similar to the computer system 102 as described with respect toFIG. 1. The RCG device 202 may store one or more applications that caninclude executable instructions that, when executed by the RCG device202, cause the RCG device 202 to perform actions, such as to transmit,receive, or otherwise process network messages, for example, and toperform other actions described and illustrated below with reference tothe figures. The application(s) may be implemented as modules orcomponents of other applications. Further, the application(s) can beimplemented as operating system extensions, modules, plugins, or thelike.

Even further, the application(s) may be operative in a cloud-basedcomputing environment. The application(s) may be executed within or asvirtual machine(s) or virtual server(s) that may be managed in acloud-based computing environment. Also, the application(s), and eventhe RCG device 202 itself, may be located in virtual server(s) runningin a cloud-based computing environment rather than being tied to one ormore specific physical network computing devices. Also, theapplication(s) may be running in one or more virtual machines (VMs)executing on the RCG device 202. Additionally, in one or moreembodiments of this technology, virtual machine(s) running on the RCGdevice 202 may be managed or supervised by a hypervisor.

In the network environment 200 of FIG. 2, the RCG device 202 is coupledto a plurality of server devices 204(1)-204(n) that hosts a plurality ofdatabases 206(1)-206(n), and also to a plurality of client devices208(1)-208(n) via communication network(s) 210. A communicationinterface of the RCG device 202, such as the network interface 114 ofthe computer system 102 of FIG. 1, operatively couples and communicatesbetween the RCG device 202, the server devices 204(1)-204(n), and/or theclient devices 208(1)-208(n), which are all coupled together by thecommunication network(s) 210, although other types and/or numbers ofcommunication networks or systems with other types and/or numbers ofconnections and/or configurations to other devices and/or elements mayalso be used.

The communication network(s) 210 may be the same or similar to thenetwork 122 as described with respect to FIG. 1, although the RCG device202, the server devices 204(1)-204(n), and/or the client devices208(1)-208(n) may be coupled together via other topologies.Additionally, the network environment 200 may include other networkdevices such as one or more routers and/or switches, for example, whichare well known in the art and thus will not be described herein. Thistechnology provides a number of advantages including methods,non-transitory computer readable media, and RCG devices that efficientlyimplement a method for ensuring that regulatory requirements for voiceand SMS communications are satisfied.

By way of example only, the communication network(s) 210 may includelocal area network(s) (LAN(s)) or wide area network(s) (WAN(s)), and canuse TCP/IP over Ethernet and industry-standard protocols, although othertypes and/or numbers of protocols and/or communication networks may beused. The communication network(s) 210 in this example may employ anysuitable interface mechanisms and network communication technologiesincluding, for example, teletraffic in any suitable form (e.g., voice,modem, and the like), Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTNs),Ethernet-based Packet Data Networks (PDNs), combinations thereof, andthe like.

The RCG device 202 may be a standalone device or integrated with one ormore other devices or apparatuses, such as one or more of the serverdevices 204(1)-204(n), for example. In one particular example, the RCGdevice 202 may include or be hosted by one of the server devices204(1)-204(n), and other arrangements are also possible. Moreover, oneor more of the devices of the RCG device 202 may be in a same or adifferent communication network including one or more public, private,or cloud networks, for example.

The plurality of server devices 204(1)-204(n) may be the same or similarto the computer system 102 or the computer device 120 as described withrespect to FIG. 1, including any features or combination of featuresdescribed with respect thereto. For example, any of the server devices204(1)-204(n) may include, among other features, one or more processors,a memory, and a communication interface, which are coupled together by abus or other communication link, although other numbers and/or types ofnetwork devices may be used. The server devices 204(1)-204(n) in thisexample may process requests received from the RCG device 202 via thecommunication network(s) 210 according to the HTTP-based and/orJavaScript Object Notation (JSON) protocol, for example, although otherprotocols may also be used.

The server devices 204(1)-204(n) may be hardware or software or mayrepresent a system with multiple servers in a pool, which may includeinternal or external networks. The server devices 204(1)-204(n) hoststhe databases 206(1)-206(n) that are configured to store informationmodels that describe classes of information and relationships betweenthe information classes for systems and domains of data, and policiesand access control rules, which include data access rules that relate toexposure of particular data types to particular entities, functionalaccess rules that relate to an ability to perform particular functionson particular data types, and governing principles that are reflected bythe data access rules and functional access rules.

Although the server devices 204(1)-204(n) are illustrated as singledevices, one or more actions of each of the server devices 204(1)-204(n)may be distributed across one or more distinct network computing devicesthat together comprise one or more of the server devices 204(1)-204(n).Moreover, the server devices 204(1)-204(n) are not limited to aparticular configuration. Thus, the server devices 204(1)-204(n) maycontain a plurality of network computing devices that operate using amaster/slave approach, whereby one of the network computing devices ofthe server devices 204(1)-204(n) operates to manage and/or otherwisecoordinate operations of the other network computing devices.

The server devices 204(1)-204(n) may operate as a plurality of networkcomputing devices within a cluster architecture, a peer-to peerarchitecture, virtual machines, or within a cloud architecture, forexample. Thus, the technology disclosed herein is not to be construed asbeing limited to a single environment and other configurations andarchitectures are also envisaged.

The plurality of client devices 208(1)-208(n) may also be the same orsimilar to the computer system 102 or the computer device 120 asdescribed with respect to FIG. 1, including any features or combinationof features described with respect thereto. For example, the clientdevices 208(1)-208(n) in this example may include any type of computingdevice that can interact with the RCG device 202 via communicationnetwork(s) 210. Accordingly, the client devices 208(1)-208(n) may bemobile computing devices, desktop computing devices, laptop computingdevices, tablet computing devices, virtual machines (includingcloud-based computers), or the like, that host chat, e-mail, orvoice-to-text applications, for example. In an exemplary embodiment, atleast one client device 208 is a wireless mobile communication device,i.e., a smart phone.

The client devices 208(1)-208(n) may run interface applications, such asstandard web browsers or standalone client applications, which mayprovide an interface to communicate with the RCG device 202 via thecommunication network(s) 210 in order to communicate user requests andinformation. The client devices 208(1)-208(n) may further include, amongother features, a display device, such as a display screen ortouchscreen, and/or an input device, such as a keyboard, for example.

Although the exemplary network environment 200 with the RCG device 202,the server devices 204(1)-204(n), the client devices 208(1)-208(n), andthe communication network(s) 210 are described and illustrated herein,other types and/or numbers of systems, devices, components, and/orelements in other topologies may be used. It is to be understood thatthe systems of the examples described herein are for exemplary purposes,as many variations of the specific hardware and software used toimplement the examples are possible, as will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the relevant art(s).

One or more of the devices depicted in the network environment 200, suchas the RCG device 202, the server devices 204(1)-204(n), or the clientdevices 208(1)-208(n), for example, may be configured to operate asvirtual instances on the same physical machine. In other words, one ormore of the RCG device 202, the server devices 204(1)-204(n), or theclient devices 208(1)-208(n) may operate on the same physical devicerather than as separate devices communicating through communicationnetwork(s) 210. Additionally, there may be more or fewer RCG devices202, server devices 204(1)-204(n), or client devices 208(1)-208(n) thanillustrated in FIG. 2.

In addition, two or more computing systems or devices may be substitutedfor any one of the systems or devices in any example. Accordingly,principles and advantages of distributed processing, such as redundancyand replication also may be implemented, as desired, to increase therobustness and performance of the devices and systems of the examples.The examples may also be implemented on computer system(s) that extendacross any suitable network using any suitable interface mechanisms andtraffic technologies, including by way of example only teletraffic inany suitable form (e.g., voice and modem), wireless traffic networks,cellular traffic networks, Packet Data Networks (PDNs), the Internet,intranets, and combinations thereof.

The RCG device 202 is described and shown in FIG. 3 as including avoice/SMS regulatory compliance module 302, although it may includeother rules, policies, modules, databases, or applications, for example.As will be described below, the access control policy definition module302 is configured to implement a method for ensuring that regulatoryrequirements for voice and SMS communications are satisfied in anautomated, efficient, scalable, and reliable manner.

An exemplary process 300 for implementing a mechanism for ensuring thatregulatory requirements for voice and SMS communications are satisfiedby utilizing the network environment of FIG. 2 is shown as beingexecuted in FIG. 3. Specifically, a first client device 208(1) and asecond client device 208(2) are illustrated as being in communicationwith RCG device 202. In this regard, the first client device 208(1) andthe second client device 208(2) may be “clients” of the RCG device 202and are described herein as such. Nevertheless, it is to be known andunderstood that the first client device 208(1) and/or the second clientdevice 208(2) need not necessarily be “clients” of the RCG device 202,or any entity described in association therewith herein. Any additionalor alternative relationship may exist between either or both of thefirst client device 208(1) and the second client device 208(2) and theRCG device 202, or no relationship may exist.

Further, RCG device 202 is illustrated as being able to access a hostedtelephony user information repository 206(1) and a regulatoryrequirements database 206(2). The voice/SMS regulatory compliance module302 may be configured to access these databases for implementing amethod for ensuring that regulatory requirements for voice and SMScommunications are satisfied.

The first client device 208(1) may be, for example, a smart phone. Ofcourse, the first client device 208(1) may be any additional devicedescribed herein. The second client device 208(2) may be, for example, apersonal computer (PC). Of course, the second client device 208(2) mayalso be any additional device described herein.

The process may be executed via the communication network(s) 210, whichmay comprise plural networks as described above. For example, in anexemplary embodiment, either or both of the first client device 208(1)and the second client device 208(2) may communicate with the RCG device202 via broadband or cellular communication. Of course, theseembodiments are merely exemplary and are not limiting or exhaustive.

Upon being started, the voice/SMS regulatory compliance module 302executes a process ensuring that regulatory requirements for voice andSMS communications are satisfied. An exemplary process for ensuring thatregulatory requirements for voice and SMS communications are satisfiedis generally indicated at flowchart 400 in FIG. 4.

In the process 400 of FIG. 4, at step S402, an access number is assignedto a mobile smart phone or a computer telephony application for use in alow density hosted telephony network infrastructure. In an exemplaryembodiment, the mobile smart phone has previously been assigned a numberfor use in a public mobile cellular communication system within thenation in which the user resides, but the user intends to travel abroad,and so an additional access number is assigned to the mobile smart phonefor use within the low density hosted telephony infrastructure.

At step S404, a communication that relates to the newly assigned accessnumber is routed to a gateway that is associated with the low densityhosted telephony network infrastructure. The communication may include,for example, any of an incoming voice call, an incoming SMS textcommunication, an outgoing voice call, and an outgoing SMS textcommunication. The gateway is equivalent to the RCG device 202, andincludes the voice/SMS regulatory compliance module 302. The gatewayalso includes a subscriber identification module (SIM) card that isassociated with the newly assigned access number. In this aspect, such aSIM card might typically be physically installed in the mobile smartphone, but is instead physically installed at the gateway.

At step S406, the voice/SMS regulatory compliance module 302 processesthe routed communication in order to ensure compliance with alljurisdictional regulations. In an exemplary embodiment, thejurisdictional regulations include all governmental and local laws,rules, and regulations that are applicable to a physical or geographicallocation of the gateway. The jurisdictional regulations may also includepolicies and access control rules, which include data access rules thatrelate to exposure of particular data types to particular entities,functional access rules that relate to an ability to perform particularfunctions on particular data types, and governing principles that arereflected by the data access rules and functional access rules. Theprocessing of the routed communication may include, for example,real-time call recording and SMS capturing for compliance archival andsearch and/or an application of data loss prevention (DLP) rules.

Then, at step S408, for an incoming voice call or SMS text message, theprocessed communication is forwarded to the mobile smart phone orcomputer telephony application. For an outgoing voice call or SMS textmessage, the processed communication is forwarded to an intendeddestination.

Referring to FIG. 5, a diagram of an exemplary low density hostedtelephony system architecture is illustrated. Referring to FIG. 6, anexemplary event flow diagram for handling of voice and SMScommunications by using the architecture of FIG. 5 is illustrated. Inthe example illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, a Session Initiation Protocol(SIP) client is registered with a Global System for Mobilecommunications (GSM) over Internet Protocol (GoIP) gateway (GoIP GW),which may be implemented as the RCG device 202. The registration withthe GSM GoIP GW includes an assignment of a GoIP SIM number, anassociation of the assigned number with a personal number thatcorresponds to the client, and a SIM card that corresponds to theassigned number is installed in the GoIP GW.

When an incoming voice call is received, the call is routed to the GoIPGW. The GoIP GW uses the voice/SMS regulatory compliance module 302 toprocess the incoming call in order to ensure that the local regulatoryrequirements are satisfied. The call is then routed to VoIP Gateway,which is a software implementation of a private branch exchange (PBX),for normal incoming call handling. VoIP Gateway checks the SIPregistration status to ensure that the intended call recipient has beenregistered, and then forwards the call to the SIP client via a standardInternet Protocol (IP) route. Optionally, the call may also be forwardedto a recording component for voice mail recording. In addition, the callmay also optionally be forwarded to voice-to-text converting componentso that the voice may be converted to text for an email message.

If a presence detection fails, the call may be forwarded to theextracted personal number. A non-answered call will be forwarded to aGoIP SIM voice mail component, according to an exemplary embodiment.

When a client desires to place an outgoing call, the call is routedthrough the GoIP GW, which uses the voice/SMS regulatory compliancemodule 302 to process the outgoing call in order to ensure that the callis in compliance with the regulatory requirements. The call is thenrouted to VoIP Gateway, which detects the caller identification and thenumber of the intended destination. The outgoing call is then bridged tothe intended destination.

When an incoming SMS text message is received, the SMS text message isrouted to the GoIP GW, which uses the voice/SMS regulatory compliancemodule 302 to process the incoming SMS text message in order to ensurecompliance with the regulatory requirements. The SMS text message isextracted and forwarded to VoIP Gateway, which either delivers the SMStext message to the client via IP Socket and App Push or directlydelivers the message to the client via the associated personal number.

When a client desires to send an SMS text message, the SMS text messageis forwarded to SMS Gateway, which is a SMS gateway. SMS Gateway usesthe GoIP GW to process the SMS text message to ensure regulatorycompliance. The GoIP GW then delivers the SMS text message to thedestination via a native carrier.

Accordingly, with this technology, an optimized process for ensuringthat regulatory requirements for voice and SMS communications aresatisfied is provided.

Although the invention has been described with reference to severalexemplary embodiments, it is understood that the words that have beenused are words of description and illustration, rather than words oflimitation. Changes may be made within the purview of the appendedclaims, as presently stated and as amended, without departing from thescope and spirit of the present disclosure in its aspects. Although theinvention has been described with reference to particular means,materials and embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limitedto the particulars disclosed; rather the invention extends to allfunctionally equivalent structures, methods, and uses such as are withinthe scope of the appended claims.

For example, while the computer-readable medium may be described as asingle medium, the term “computer-readable medium” includes a singlemedium or multiple media, such as a centralized or distributed database,and/or associated caches and servers that store one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “computer-readable medium” shall also include anymedium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set ofinstructions for execution by a processor or that cause a computersystem to perform any one or more of the embodiments disclosed herein.

The computer-readable medium may comprise a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or media and/or comprise a transitorycomputer-readable medium or media. In a particular non-limiting,exemplary embodiment, the computer-readable medium can include asolid-state memory such as a memory card or other package that housesone or more non-volatile read-only memories. Further, thecomputer-readable medium can be a random access memory or other volatilere-writable memory. Additionally, the computer-readable medium caninclude a magneto-optical or optical medium, such as a disk or tapes orother storage device to capture carrier wave signals such as a signalcommunicated over a transmission medium. Accordingly, the disclosure isconsidered to include any computer-readable medium or other equivalentsand successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored.

Although the present application describes specific embodiments whichmay be implemented as computer programs or code segments incomputer-readable media, it is to be understood that dedicated hardwareimplementations, such as application specific integrated circuits,programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices, can be constructedto implement one or more of the embodiments described herein.Applications that may include the various embodiments set forth hereinmay broadly include a variety of electronic and computer systems.Accordingly, the present application may encompass software, firmware,and hardware implementations, or combinations thereof. Nothing in thepresent application should be interpreted as being implemented orimplementable solely with software and not hardware.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsthat may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference toparticular standards and protocols, the disclosure is not limited tosuch standards and protocols. Such standards are periodically supersededby faster or more efficient equivalents having essentially the samefunctions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having thesame or similar functions are considered equivalents thereof.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the various embodiments. Theillustrations are not intended to serve as a complete description of allof the elements and features of apparatus and systems that utilize thestructures or methods described herein. Many other embodiments may beapparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the disclosure.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from the disclosure, suchthat structural and logical substitutions and changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, theillustrations are merely representational and may not be drawn to scale.Certain proportions within the illustrations may be exaggerated, whileother proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, the disclosure and thefigures are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein,individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover,although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is submitted with the understanding thatit will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, variousfeatures may be grouped together or described in a single embodiment forthe purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to beinterpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodimentsrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may bedirected to less than all of the features of any of the disclosedembodiments. Thus, the following claims are incorporated into theDetailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as definingseparately claimed subject matter.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for facilitating regulatory compliancewith respect to telephony communications, the method being implementedby at least one processor, the method comprising: assigning, to at leastone from among a mobile telephone and a computer telephony applicationby the at least one processor, an access number; receiving, by the atleast one processor, an incoming communication that relates to theassigned access number; routing, by the at least one processor, thereceived incoming communication to a gateway that is installed at ahosted facility; processing, by the at least one processor, the routedcommunication to ensure compliance with a predetermined plurality ofjurisdictional regulations; and forwarding, by the at least oneprocessor, the processed communication to the at least one from amongthe mobile telephone and the computer telephony application, wherein asubscriber identification module (SIM) that is associated with theassigned access number is physically installed at the gateway, whereinthe processing of the routed communication includes applying at leastone from among a data access rule that relates to an exposure of apredetermined data type to a predetermined entity and a functionalaccess rule that relates to a performance of a predetermined function onthe predetermined data type, and wherein the applying of the at leastone from among the data access rule and the functional access ruleincludes at least one from among short message service (SMS) capturingfor compliance archival and search and applying at least one data lossprevention rule.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the gateway is aGlobal System for Mobile communications (GSM) over Internet Protocol(GoIP) gateway, and the assigning of the access number comprises:registering the at least one from among the mobile telephone and thecomputer telephony application with the GoIP gateway; assigning a GoIPSIM number to the at least one of the mobile telephone and the computertelephony application; and associating the assigned SIM number with apersonal number of a user of the at least one from among the mobiletelephone and the computer telephony application.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the predetermined plurality of jurisdictional regulationsincludes a set of regulations that is applicable in a currentgeographical location of the GoIP gateway.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the incoming communication includes an incoming voice call. 5.The method of claim 3, wherein the incoming communication includes anincoming short message service (SMS) text communication.
 6. A computingapparatus for facilitating regulatory compliance with respect totelephony communications, the computing apparatus comprising: aprocessor; a memory; and a communication interface coupled to each ofthe processor and the memory, wherein the processor is configured to:assign, to at least one from among a mobile telephone and a computertelephony application, an access number; receive, via the communicationinterface, an incoming communication that relates to the assigned accessnumber; route the received incoming communication to a gateway that isinstalled at a hosted facility; process the routed communication toensure compliance with a predetermined plurality of jurisdictionalregulations; and forward, via the communication interface, the processedcommunication to the at least one from among the mobile telephone andthe computer telephony application, wherein a subscriber identificationmodule (SIM) that is associated with the assigned access number isphysically installed at the gateway, and wherein the processor isfurther configured to apply, to the routed communication, at least onefrom among a data access rule that relates to an exposure of apredetermined data type to a predetermined entity and a functionalaccess rule that relates to a performance of a predetermined function onthe predetermined data type, and wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to execute, with respect to the routed communication, atleast one from among a short message service (SMS) capturing operationfor compliance archival and search and an application of at least onedata loss prevention rule.
 7. The computing apparatus of claim 6,wherein: the gateway is a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)over Internet Protocol (GoIP) gateway, and the processor is furtherconfigured to: register the at least one from among the mobile telephoneand the computer telephony application with the GoIP gateway; assign aGoIP SIM number to the at least one of the mobile telephone and thecomputer telephony application; and associate the assigned SIM numberwith a personal number of a user of the at least one from among themobile telephone and the computer telephony application.
 8. Thecomputing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the predetermined plurality ofjurisdictional regulations includes a set of regulations that isapplicable in a current geographical location of the GoIP gateway. 9.The computing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the incoming communicationincludes an incoming voice call.
 10. The computing apparatus of claim 8,wherein the incoming communication includes an incoming short messageservice (SMS) text communication.
 11. A method for facilitatingregulatory compliance with respect to telephony communications, themethod being implemented by at least one processor, the methodcomprising: assigning, to at least one from among a mobile telephone anda computer telephony application by the at least one processor, anaccess number; receiving, by the at least one processor from the atleast one from among the mobile telephone and the computer telephonyapplication, an outgoing communication; routing, by the at least oneprocessor, the received outgoing communication to a gateway that isinstalled at a hosted facility; processing, by the at least oneprocessor, the routed communication to ensure compliance with apredetermined plurality of jurisdictional regulations; and forwarding,by the least one processor, the processed communication to an intendeddestination, wherein a subscriber identification module (SIM) that isassociated with the assigned access number is physically installed atthe gateway, wherein the processing of the routed communication includesapplying at least one from among a data access rule that relates to anexposure of a predetermined data type to a predetermined entity and afunctional access rule that relates to a performance of a predeterminedfunction on the predetermined data type, and wherein the processing ofthe routed communication includes at least one from among short messageservice (SMS) capturing for compliance archival and search and applyingat least one data loss prevention rule.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein: the gateway is a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)over Internet Protocol (GoIP) gateway; and the assigning of the accessnumber comprises: registering the at least one from among the mobiletelephone and the computer telephony application with the GoIP gateway;assigning a GoIP SIM number to the at least one of the mobile telephoneand the computer telephony application; and associating the assigned SIMnumber with a personal number of a user of the at least one from amongthe mobile telephone and the computer telephony application.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the predetermined plurality ofjurisdictional regulations includes a set of regulations that isapplicable in a current geographical location of the GoIP gateway. 14.The method of claim 13, wherein the outgoing communication includes anoutgoing voice call.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the outgoingcommunication includes an outgoing short message service (SMS) textcommunication.